Posthumous Bravery Award For Submariner

A widow has shed tears of pride and grief as her late husband was awarded a medal by the Queen for preventing a massacre onboard a nuclear submarine docked in Southampton.

Royal Navy officer Lieutenant Commander Ian Molyneux's widow Gillian collected the George Medal, one of the highest accolades for bravery, at an investiture ceremony in Buckingham Palace.

Lt Cdr Molyneux, 36, was posthumously decorated for attempting to tackle Able Seaman Ryan Donovan as he ran amok on HMS Astute while it was docked in Southampton on April 8 last year.

The father-of-four from Standish, Wigan, tried to disarm Donovan after hearing shots on board the submarine on April 8 last year, but was shot in the head.

Emerging from the private ceremony in tears, Mrs Molyneux said it had been a ''very proud and very sad occasion''.

''The Queen told me she was very pleased that she was able to present the medal herself and that meant a lot to me,'' she said. ''She asked how long Ian had been in the service, what he got up to and what he enjoyed. She made it very personal.''